Award winning director, Brillante Mendoza gives life to the story “Ma’Rosa” about corrupted police officials who sets up a buy-bust operation on husband (Julio Diaz) and wife (Jaclyn Jose) selling drugs while using their convenience store as a cover up. It’s up to their daughter (Andi Eigenmann) and two sons (Felix Roco and Jomari Angeles) to bail them out.

The film received a standing ovation at its premiere at the 69th Cannes film festival in France. While Jaclyn Jose bagged the Best actress award, amongst her competitors for the title were Marion Cotillard, Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.

Filipino audiences will get a chance to finally see the acclaimed film on the 6th of July this 2016.

Ma’ Rosa, a film by Brillante Mendoza starring Jaclyn Jose, the 1st Southeast Asian to ever win the highly coveted best actress award at the 69th Cannes film festival in Cannes, France will soon be out in Philippine theaters.

Fresh from the 69th Cannes Film Festival, the cast and crew of Ma’Rosa alongside 2016 Best Actress, Jaclyn Jose with director Brillante Mendoza arrived at the homecoming dinner held at Makati Shangri-La, Manila, May 25, Wednesday. The Dinner was headed by Wilson Tieng of Solar Entertainment who is also Mendoza’s partner in launching Sinag Maynila Film Festival which is on its 2nd year.

“Imago” director and protégé of Mendoza, Raymund Ribay Gutierrez was among the only two filipinos to enter the film festival this year. His film was entered in the short film category, a story about a mother with a special child, who goes to her unusual work late at night.

(Photo courtesy of Carlo Valenzona)

Jaclyn Jose talked about her experience when she encountered the artists that she looked up to like Kristen Dunst. She also added that she does not need a hero’s welcome because of the warm greetings of the Filipino people. Her role as Rosa, a store owner who sells drugs on the side with her husband (Julio Diaz) where she bested two of the “heavyweights” at the cannes film festival, namely Charlize Theron and Marion Cotillard.

Daughter of Jose in real life who also acted alongside her in the film, Andi Eigenmann became emotional while talking to the press about her experiences at the film festival, “My time is over in showbiz and what Filipinos really look for is really different from what I can offer.” And further added, “Then, all of a sudden, I arrive in France where everybody there appreciates me and what I can do.” She also talked about her half-brother, Sid Lucero who won Best Actor at the 19th LA Comedy Festival for the movie Toto.

CANNES — Against the glamorous backdrop of the French Mediterranean resort of Cannes, prolific Filipino director Brillante Mendoza’s latest offering at the world’s biggest film festival is an exploration into the difficult living conditions of a poor family in Manila.

“Ma’ Rosa,” which premiered this week at the Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of Rosa Reyes (Jaclyn Jose), a woman who owns a sari-sari store in a poor neighborhood in Manila, making ends meet with her husband Nestor (Julio Diaz) by selling drugs.

“It’s a painful truth,” the filmmaker said. “There is a lot of bigger corruption that is happening all over the world maybe on a different scale.”

“Ma’ Rosa” is among 21 films competing for the festival’s coveted top Palme d’Or prize, which will be awarded on Sunday.

Mendoza, 55, who previously won the best director award at Cannes in 2009 for “Kinatay,” said that showcasing a film in the festival’s main film competition would help get the world to think about the topics of the film.

“This is where the whole world, you know, watch films from different walks of life and from different parts of the world,” he said. — Reuters

“The critics were wrong… It’s a big-time leading role,” said Hunger Games actor Donald Sutherland, a member of the jury.

After an article from Indiewire.com reported that some critics were unhappy of the Best Actress choice. Critics were saying that Jaclyn Jose’s character was a supporting role in the Brillante Mendoza film Ma’Rosa.

(A scene in Ma’Rosa by renowned director, Brillante Mendoza starring Jaclyn Jose, the first Filipina to win Best Actress at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.)

French director and screenwriter Arnaud Desplechin was so moved by Jaclyn’s performance that he was quoted saying, “She broke my heart,” remarked the jury member.

Among the 59-year-old veteran actress of the Philippines contenders were, American Honey breakout Sasha Lane; The Neon Demon‘s Elle Fanning; Ruth Negga in Jeff Nichols’ Loving; Elle‘s Isabelle Huppert and From The Land Of The Moon‘s Marion Cotillard.

Variety magazine praised Jose for the “naturalistic grace” of her film performance, playing the matriarch of a family struggling to survive amid squalor.

“I am so thankful to Brillante Mendoza,” said Jaclyn Jose in a quick interview aired on TV Festival de Cannes. “I did not [expect]. I just want to come here and be with my daughter and walk the red carpet.

“I was just sitting there watching the stage how nice it… is and how come in the Philippines we can’t make this, just these simple things and then they call my name. So I got surprised. I’m so happy really, really,” the veteran actress added. “But of course I’m proud so proud of our film. We just don’t know how people would react or will like our film but us, we know that we did our best and we know that we have a good film.”

The 52-year-old veteran actress, Jaclyn Jose won best actress for her role in Brillante Mendoza’s film, “Ma’Rosa.” Among her other contenders were Marion Cotillard, Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.

“I am so surprised. I just went to have the red carpet walk with my daughter, my real-life daughter and my daughter in the movie also,” Jose said as she accepted the award on Sunday, referring to her daughter Andi Eigenmann. “To Cannes, thank you so much, thank you to the jury, thank you that you liked our film.”

Her role is a mother who is a store owner and sells drugs on the side with her husband (Julio Diaz) to make ends meet, when they get arrested, the entire family becomes desperate to buy her freedom from corrupt police.

“It happened, that’s why it had to be told,” the acclaimed director remarked, who is known for tackling dark social issues in his films.

“As an artist, as a filmmaker, you have to share it with the rest of the world for them to realize and also for them to think about it, that such situation should not happen,” he added. In 2009, Brillante Mendoza became the first Filipino to win best director for his film, “Kinatay.”

Brillante Mendoza commends his stars for his 69th film entry at the Cannes Film Festival

Ma’ Rosa takes place in the slums of Manila. A married couple (played by Jaclyn Jose and Julio Diaz) run a convenience store that sells illegal substances, particularly shabu (crystal meth). When the couple gets arrested in a buy-bust operation, their three children (Andi Eigenmann, Felix Roco, and Jomari Angeles) do everything they can to save them from corrupt cops.

Please tell us something about your collaboration with the European Union.

Direk Brillante: “They [European Union] got in touch with me kasi they’ve been wanting to partner with me and what we can do, about my films, for instance, dito sa Philippines. Most of the films they are bringing here in the Philippines are for Cine Europa. Gusto nilang mag-collaborate with us. So, I welcome the idea, kasi most of my films are shown naman in Europe. Bukod sa pinapalabas ito sa Cannes, also in Venice, Italy, Berlin, Germany also so maganda siyang collaboration. Maganda rin kasi siyang gawin dito sa Pilipinas yung ginagawa doon sa abroad, especially in Europe. Maganda na we have the EU here and the Cine Europa Film Festival also. Maybe in the future, we can also show my films in these festivals.”

The cast of Ma’Rosa, the official entry of Director Brillante Mendoza to the 69th Cannes Film Festival, attended Europe Day on May 5, thursday night, it is originally celebrated at the 9th of may, but due to the upcoming elections it was moved.

On its 25th anniversary the delegation of the European Union at Dusit Thani Hotel, Ayala Center Makati, Philippines, gave the acclaimed director recognition by Ambassador Franz Jenssen. Awarded for being one of the representatives of the Philippines at the Cannes Film Festival and for strengthening the ties of EU and the country.

“This is the first time that I had a collaboration with EU and I’m very glad that they got in touch with me to be a partner with them, so that they could also promote my film. They have a lot of plans about my film, they have a lot of plans about artistic collaboration. There is no concrete details yet about the plan, but I’m really looking forward to it”, said Mendoza. (EagleNewsPH)

He is also part of the launch of the an application called “e for u” that night, a comprehensive information hub about the EU for android and apple users.

“Serbis” was the first film Brillante entered at Cannes, last 2008, which was nominated for the coveted Palme d’Or (Golden Palm), this will be his 4th film since then.

Along with the cast and crew, they will be attending the Cannes Film Festival that will be held at France, on May 11 to 22.

Filipino Filmmaker competes for the main entry at the 69th Cannes Film Festival

(Photos courtesy of Festival de Cannes –Page Officielle and Filippinsk Film Festival official page)

Award-winning film director, Brillante Mendoza releases a new film that will be showcase at the 69th Cannes Film Festival held at France. Entitled “Ma’Rosa”, it tells a story about a married couple that owns a sari-sari store in Manila, that they use as a cover-up in selling an illegal drug called Methamphetamines. One night their neighbor begs Rosa to sell him a small pack of the drug, without knowing that it was a buy-bust operation that would lead to Rosa and Nestor’s warrantless arrest by the police.

One of his accomplishments at the Cannes Film Festival was winning Best Director for his film “Kinatay” last 2009.

MANILA – Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza is set to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival once again after his movie “Ma’ Rosa” made it to the main competition line-up, it was announced Thursday.

Mendoza’s latest opus will compete with 38 other films from different countries, including “The Unknown Girl” from previous Palme d’Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne and “The Last Face,” directed by Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn

Not much is known about “Ma’ Rosa.” A trailer has yet to be released and Mendoza has yet to update his website with a synopsis for the film.

Last year, Mendoza was in Cannes with his Un Certain Regard entry, “Taklub,” a film about the survivors of super typhoon “Yolanda” starring Nora Aunor. He was previously in competition with his 2009 film “Kinatay” and his 2008 effort “Serbis.”

Meanwhile, Pinoy filmmaker Raymund Gutierrez, a student of Mendoza, will be representing the country in the Short Film Competition. His film, “Imago,” is the lone entry from Asia to make the shortlist.